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Better to Be ‘Blind’ than Able to See Nothing

Going up that first long hill in the peloton, barely able to see anything, was not fun. I didn’t want to get too close to any other wheel, so I eased off and pulled to one side.

It was then that I decided to do something I had never, ever done in all my years of riding: take off my glasses and ride with no vision correction.

I’ve mentioned before how terribly myopic I am. But as I said to one of my buddies: I’d rather be blind than not able to see anything.

It actually worked out better than I had hoped. Because group riding is in such close quarters, and because I know the route like the back of my hand, riding like Mr. Magoo was not so bad. I could once again see the world around me, and I could even see my fellow riders well enough to comfortably and safely ride a wheel. (I didn’t have to relegate myself to sitting alone out on in the wind, fighting like hell to stay with the group – which would have made those last 25 miles that much worse.)

So, in an extreme pinch, those of you who share my visual limitation, just know that taking off the specs may be an option for you if you find yourself so “fogged in” that keeping your glasses on might even be more dangerous than riding without them.

You might actually give it a try sometime when you’re out riding alone and on a stretch of road with no traffic. Or maybe with one or two friends, letting them know what you’re up to, so you can determine what you can, and can’t, see without your glasses.

—John Marsh

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